Man charged after allegedly attacking bus driver, police officers

Several Chicago police officers were hurt when a man attacked them after he was arrested for attacking a CTA bus driver on the West Side, authorities said Monday.

Around 7:40 a.m. Sunday, Jaime Hernandez, 29, punched the female bus driver in the head while aboard an eastbound No. 21 Cermak bus.

He then was detained before Chicago police arrived on the scene in the 2400 block of West Cermak Road, CTA spokeswoman Ibis Antongiorgi said.

A police captain, responding to the driver's distress call, arrested Hernandez on the bus, Ogden District Lt. Sam Cozzo said.

While the suspect was handcuffed on the bus and awaiting transport, he kicked the captain in the groin, Cozzo said.

Hernandez was taken for processing to the district station, where he kicked another police officer in the station lockup, he said. The officer fell from the force of the blow and struck his head on the steel toilet in the cell.

When the on-duty desk sergeant responded to the commotion, Hernandez head-butted the officer in the face, Cozzo said.

The suspect eventually was subdued by other officers, he said.

The officers who were attacked in the station were taken with minor injuries to a local hospital, Cozzo said. The captain who was attacked on the bus did not need to be hospitalized.

Hernandez was taken to Mt. Sinai Hospital for observation and a psychological evaluation, Cozzo said. He was charged with aggravated battery but would not appear for a bond hearing until after his release from the hospital.

The bus driver was treated for her injuries at the University of Illinois Medical Center at Chicago and later released, Antongiorgi said.